Outdoor cabinets for electronic and/or telecommunication equipment and connection panels are known in the art. The equipment in these cabinets generally must be maintained within a certain temperature range in order to function properly, and some of this equipment generates heat that must be dissipated. Direct air cooling is a common method for removing excess heat from such cabinets, especially when the equipment in the cabinet generates a relatively large amount of heat. In such systems, vents are also provided for allowing heat to escape from the cabinet interior and for allowing an airflow to pass through the cabinet over and around the equipment, which airflow may be produced or assisted by one or more fans. Screens or filters may also be provided to reduce the amount of particulate matter that finds its way into the cabinet interior, and any vent openings may be louvered to protect the cabinet interior from rain.
Such cabinets may be located in areas where hunting occurs, and the cabinets are sometimes struck by stray bullets and shotgun pellets. The steel or other material from which the cabinets and their doors are typically constructed is generally strong enough to prevent penetration by stray bullets and pellets. However, the vent openings are often not so well protected, and shotgun pellets and/or bullets may pass easily through such openings and the air filters and/or fans near these openings and damage the electronic or communication equipment housed in the cabinets.
Vent openings are typically covered by screens and/or louvers to keep out insects and rain. One possible approach to protecting communications equipment from stray projectiles would be to cover the openings with screens or louvers having an opening size smaller than the smallest projectile from which protection is required. However, shotgun pellets may be 0.089 inches (2.026 mm) in diameter or smaller. If the vent openings were made this size or smaller, airflow would be greatly restricted and it would be impracticable to create a sufficient airflow through the cabinet for cooling. It would therefore be desirable to protect equipment in a communication cabinet from damage from stray bullets and pellets that enter the cabinet through vent openings without substantially restricting airflow through the cabinet.